Bra fastener

ABSTRACT

A bra fastener designed for persons with a disability and/or partially incapacitated to be easily fastened independently with one hand, either left hand or right hand. The bra fastener includes a strip of material, bra slider hardware with hooks or bra slider hardware with eyes, hook-and-loop fastening material, and finger/thumb loops. The bra fastener may be used with any bra equipped with hook and eye fasteners allowing a wearer to more easily put on and take off the bra using only one hand.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Certain exemplary embodiments described herein relate generally to a bra fastener attachment designed for bra wearers who have a disability and/or are partially incapacitated and/or for some other reasons have a need for a bra that can be fastened independently with one hand using either the right hand or left hand.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY

This invention relates generally to bras. It is widely known that bra wearers young and old who have disabilities and/or are partly incapacitated physically, such as from Stroke, Arthritis, Cerebral Palsy, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease, Fibromyalgia, Rheumatism, or simply a broken hand/wrist find it difficult to fasten/manage the hooks and eyes on the back of a conventionally fastened bra. Fastening and removal of a conventionally fastened bra by the wearer requires the wearer to reach behind their back with both arms and attach/detach the hooks and eyes of the bra using both hands. Alternatively, a wearer of a conventionally fastened bra could secure the bra with the fastener facing forward, holding in place one bra wing of the bra and securing the closure in front by bringing around the other bra wing and fastening the hooks and eyes of the two bra wings together, then shifting the bra around the body to a position the fastened portion in the back. This series of manipulations likewise requires the use of both hands.

The bra fastener described herein includes embodiments that allow a bra to be fastened and/or removed by the wearer using only one hand. The finger/thumb loop included in the described bra fastener is utilized in fastening and/or removing the bra, for example, by a wearer bringing their hand behind their back and utilizing the described finger/thumb loop to fasten or remove the bra. One-handed front fastening of the bra may also be accomplished utilizing the described finger/thumb loop to fasten the bra with the fastener positioned in front of the wearer, using the finger/thumb loop to swing the bra fastener around to the desired back position. One-handed removal of the bra in the front position may also be accomplished by utilizing the finger/thumb loop to swing the bra fastener around from the back to the front position and further utilizing the loop to unfasten the bra while the fastener is positioned in front of the wearer.

A bra wardrobe typically includes a number of back closure bras. Certain exemplary embodiments herein provide a wearer with the opportunity to wear a bra from their existing bra wardrobe and enjoy the advantages of one-handed fastening without the inconvenience and expense of purchasing an additional bra. In this way, a favorite or preferred bra from a wearer's existing bra wardrobe can be adapted to permit more convenient one-handed fastening and removal in accordance with the embodiments described herein.

Certain exemplary embodiments herein include hook-and-loop fastening material, such as Velcro, to fasten the bra. Prior art bras that use such fastening materials tend to be large, bulky bras that are generally not esthetically pleasing. Because the exemplary embodiments described herein may be applied to bras commercially available from any number of manufacturers, the wearer may enjoy the advantages of one-hand fastening and removal with a wide variety of bra styles and designs.

Accordingly, it will be appreciated that it is desirable to provide a bra fastener which is designed for attachment and detachment using one hand to provide, for example, easier bra fastening and removal for a wearer who finds it difficult to reach or manipulate the hooks and eyes of a conventionally fastened bra, as a person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate from the description herein.

One aspect of certain exemplary embodiments herein relates to a bra fastener attachment that facilitates one-handed fastening and removal of a bra.

Another aspect of certain exemplary embodiments relates to a bra fastener including slider hardware with hooks.

Still another aspect of certain exemplary embodiments relates to a bra fastener including slider hardware with eyes.

Still another aspect of certain exemplary embodiments relates to a bra fastener for use by a wearer in fastening and/or removing a bra which includes hook-and-loop fastening material, such as Velcro, comprising of two woven strips (one covered with stiff hooks and the other with pliable loops) which press together to fasten and pull apart to separate.

Still another aspect of certain exemplary embodiments relates to a bra fastener including finger/thumb loop(s) for one hand fastening and/or removal of a bra by the wearer using either the right hand or the left hand.

Still another aspect of certain exemplary embodiments relates to the wearer stepping in, pulling up, adjusting and fastening a bra using one hand.

These features, aspects, and advantages may be combined in any suitable combination to realize yet further exemplary embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Certain features, aspects and advantages of the embodiments described herein will be better understood from the following detailed description, including the appended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bra fastener according to one embodiment being operated by a wearer using their left hand.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a bra fastener according to one embodiment being operated by a wearer using their right hand.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a bra fastener according to one embodiment being operated by a wearer using their left hand.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a bra fastener according to one embodiment being operated by a wearer using their right hand.

FIG. 5A is a front view of one embodiment of slider hardware with eyes.

FIG. 5B is a side view of one embodiment of slider hardware with eyes.

FIG. 6A is a front view of one embodiment of slider hardware with hooks,

FIG. 6B is a side view of one embodiment of slider hardware with hooks.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the interior side of one embodiment of a bra fastener in a flat, open state.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the exterior side of one embodiment of a bra fastener in a flat, open state.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a bra fastener with slider hardware attached to the right bra wing.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a bra fastener with slider hardware attached to the left bra wing.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the bra fastener in a fastened state.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the bra fastener in a fastened state.

FIGS. 13A-13D show an exemplary four-step process of stepping into, pulling up, adjusting and fastening a bra equipped with an exemplary embodiment of a bra fastener.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a wearer stepping into a bra equipped with an exemplary embodiment of a bra fastener.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a wearer pulling up a bra equipped with an exemplary embodiment of a bra fastener.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a wearer adjusting a bra equipped with an exemplary embodiment of a bra fastener.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a wearer fastening a bra equipped with an exemplary embodiment of a bra fastener.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings, in which like reference numerals designate similar parts throughout the various views, FIG. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a bra wearer 100 wearing a bra 101 having left and right bra wings to which is attached an exemplary embodiment of a bra fastener 102 with eyes 40 attached to the hooks of the right bra wing of bra 101 and slider hardware 20 having hooks 45 attached to the eyes of left bra wing of bra 101. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the right bra wing of bra 101 has hooks and left bra wing of bra 101 has eyes. Bra 101 may have one hook, one eye, and or multiple hooks and/or eyes depending on the particular bra design. Similarly, bra fastener 102 may include one hook, one eye, and or multiple hooks and/or eyes. Certain embodiments may also include hooks on both ends of bra fastener 102 or eyes on both ends of bra fastener 102. In the unlikely case of a bra having eyes on the right bra wing and hooks on the left bra wing, the embodiment of bra fastener 102 shown in FIG. 1 would be attached with eyes 40 attached to the hooks of the left bra wing of bra 101 and slider hardware 20 having hooks 45 attached to the eyes of right bra wing of bra 101. In FIG. 1 slider hardware 20 is shown as a D-ring, however various other embodiments of slider hardware 20 may be configured such as a rectangular shape, a round shape, an oval shape or any other shape suitable to accept strip of material 70 through an opening of slider hardware 20. Slider hardware 20 includes one or more hooks and/or eyes depending on the particular bra design to which it is to be attached. Slider hardware 20 may be made of any variety of materials including, but not limited to, metal, plastic, nylon, composite material, or any other suitable material. Also shown in FIG. 1 is a strip of material 70 inserted through an opening of slider hardware 20. In one embodiment, strip of material 70 is an elastic fabric, however, as will be appreciated by a person of ordinary skill in the art, any variety of suitable material or fabric may be used, having or not having elastic properties. In certain embodiments strip of material 70 may be 4 ¼″ to 4 ¾″ in length, but any suitable length may be used and still remain within the scope of the claimed invention. Hook-and-loop material, such as Velcro, is located on the interior side of bra fastener 102. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, hook portion 60 of the hook-and-loop material is located at a first end on the interior side of strip of material 70 with loop portion 60′ (not shown) located at a second opposite end of strip of material 70. Alternatively, loop portion 60′(not shown) of the hook-and-loop material may be located at a first end on the interior side of strip of material 70 with hook portion 60 located at a second opposite end of strip of material 70. Hook-and-loop material 60 and 60′ may be attached to strip of material 70 using any suitable manner of attachment known in the art such as sewing, glue, tape, thermal bonding, riveting or any other suitable manner of adhesion and/or attachment. Moreover, said hook-and-loop material may be located on either or both sides of elongated strip of material 70, and/or may be integral of strip of material 70. Hook-and-loop portions 60 and 60′ may be approximately 1 ¼″ in length, but any suitable length could be used and still remain within the scope of the claimed invention.

Finger/thumb loop 30 is shown in FIG. 1 attached to strip of material 70 at the opposite end of eyes 40. In certain embodiments, two finger/thumb loops 30 may be provided; one at each end of strip of material 70. The opening of finger/thumb loop 30 may be of any suitable size that permits insertion of a wearer's finger or thumb. As shown in FIG. 1, wearer 100 inserts their left thumb through finger/thumb loop 30 and moves finger/thumb loop 30 from left to right using their left hand, which draws together the left and right wings of bra 101 and substantially aligns hook portion 60 with loop portion 60′ (not shown) allowing the user to then press together portions 60 and 60′ by moving their left thumb toward their back, or toward the chest if fastening in front of the body, thereby fastening bra 101 for wearing. While the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 uses a hook-and-loop fastener, the invention is not so limited and any suitable means of fastening may be used such as magnets, snaps, or any other suitable type of attachment or adhesion, as will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art from the description herein. Moreover, said fastener(s) may be located on either or both sides of elongated strip of material 70, or may be integral of strip of material 70.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary embodiment of a bra wearer 100 wearing a bra 101 having left and right bra wings to which is attached an exemplary embodiment of a bra fastener 102 with hooks 45 attached to the eyes of the left bra wing of bra 101 and slider hardware 20′ having eyes 40 attached to the hooks of right bra wing of bra 101. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the right bra wing of bra 101 has hooks and left bra wing of bra 101 has eyes. In the case of a bra having eyes on the right bra wing and hooks on the left bra wing, the embodiment of bra fastener 102 shown in FIG. 2 would be attached to bra 101 with hooks 45 attached to the eyes of the right bra wing of bra 101 and slider hardware 20 having eyes 40 attached to the hooks of the left bra wing of bra 101. As shown in FIG. 2, wearer 100 inserts their right thumb through finger/thumb loop 30 and moves finger/thumb loop 30 from right to left using their right hand, which draws together the left and right wings of bra 101 and substantially aligns hook portion 60 with loop portion 60′ (not shown) allowing the user to then press together portions 60 and 60′ by moving their right thumb toward their back, thereby fastening bra 101 for wearing.

FIG. 3 shows wearer 100 operating the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 using the thumb of the left hand to fasten bra 101 by inserting their left thumb through finger/thumb loop 30 and moving finger/thumb loop 30 from right to left using their left hand, which draws together the left and right wings of bra 101 and substantially aligns hook portion 60 with loop portion 60′ (not shown) allowing the user to then press together portions 60 and 60′ by moving their left thumb toward their back, thereby fastening bra 101 for wearing. FIG. 4 shows wearer 100 operating the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 using the thumb of the right hand to fasten bra 101 by inserting their right thumb through finger/thumb loop 30 and moving finger/thumb loop 30 from left to right using their right hand, which draws together the left and right wings of bra 101 and substantially aligns hook portion 60 with loop portion 60′ (not shown) allowing the user to then press together portions 60 and 60′ by moving their right thumb toward their back, thereby fastening bra 101 for wearing.

FIGS. 5A and 5B show front and side views, respectively, of an exemplary embodiment of slider hardware 20 having eyes 40 for attachment to a bra wing having hooks. Eyes 40 of slider 20 are shown as substantially rectangular, however eyes 40 may be a square shape, a round shape, an oval shape or any other shape suitable to accept a bra hook. FIGS. 6A and 6B show front and side views, respectively, of an exemplary embodiment of slider hardware 20′ having hooks 45 for attachment to a bra wing having eyes. Hooks 45 of slider 20′ may be of any shape or size suitable to attach to a bra eye. The particular and other characteristics of eyes 40 and hooks 45 are selected or adapted to be suitable for the particular bra application in which hooks and eyes are used.

FIGS. 7 an 8 show the interior side and exterior side, respectively, of an embodiment of bra fastener 102, including strip of material 70 inserted into opening of slider hardware 20. FIG. 7 shows hook portion 60 of hook-and-loop fastener on the left interior side of bra fastener 102, and loop portion 60′ on the right interior side of bra fastener 102 with slider hardware 20 positioned between portions 60 and 60′. FIG. 9 is a close up view of an embodiment of bra fastener 102 applied to a bra with a right bra wing having hooks and a left bra wing having eyes. Bra fastener 102 is shown with slider hardware 20 having eyes attached to the hooks of the right bra wing. FIG. 10 is an embodiment of bra fastener 102 also applied to a bra with a right bra wing having hooks and a left bra wing having eyes. In FIG. 10, the hooks of slider hardware 20′ are attached to the eyes of the left bra wing of bra 101. FIGS. 11 and 12 show the embodiments of FIGS. 9 and 10, respectively, in the fastened position, with finger/thumb loop 30 in the hanging position ready to be engaged by the wearer's finger or thumb for one handed-unfastening/removal.

FIGS. 13A-13D show an example of how a wearer may utilize the described bra fastener to put on a bra using only the left hand. This embodiment and certain other embodiments of the described bra fastener also permit putting on the bra using only the left hand. In FIG. 13A, the wearer is shown stepping into the bra. In FIG. 13B, the wearer pulls up the bra to the desired height. In FIG. 13C, the wearer adjusts the bra to the desired position. In FIG. 13D, the wearer tightens and fastens the bra for wearing. FIGS. 14 through 17 further show an exemplary step-by-step procedure 200 for putting on a bra using only the left hand. FIG. 14 shows a wearer stepping into a bra 201 to which an embodiment of bra fastener 202 is attached, with the wearer placing the left foot through the bra first, followed by the right foot, although the order of placement of the left and right foot through the bra is not significant. In FIG. 15, the wearer pulls up the bra to the desired height using only the left hand. In FIG. 16, the wearer adjusts the bra to the desired position, again using only the left hand. In FIG. 17, the wearer inserts the thumb of the left hand into the finger/thumb loop of bra fastener 202 and tightens the bra by moving the left hand from right to left and then fastening the bra by moving the left hand toward the wearer's back thereby pressing together the hook and loop portions of the hook-and-loop fastener of bra fastener 202. The wearer could also secure the bra using one hand with the bra fastener facing forward, as shown in FIGS. 18 through 21. The wearer steps into the bra with cups facing backward and the bra fastener in front. The wearer then pulls up the bra using one hand, and secures the bra using that hand as shown, for example, in FIGS. 18 through 21. The wearer then swings or turns the bra around the body thereby positioning the bra fastener at the back; in certain embodiments, the finger/thumb loop may be employed to assist in this maneuver. The wearer then adjusts the bra so the cups are in the right place under bust, and the bra straps are positioned on the shoulders correctly.

Primary benefits of certain exemplary embodiments of the described bra fastener design include: (i) easier one hand fastening and/or removal of a bra using either the left hand or the right hand; (ii) a low cost way of adapting an existing bra wardrobe to one-handed fastening and/or removal; (iii) low cost modification of existing bra wardrobe to one-handed fastening an/or removal; and/or (iii) a low cost way of adapting a wide variety of commercially available bras to one hand fastening and/or removal.

It is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments, on the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. 

1. A bra fastener for attaching to a bra comprising: An elongated strip of material having a first and second end; At least one bra hook located at said first end for attachment to a bra eye of a bra; At least one bra eye located at said second end for attachment to a bra hook of a bra; Slider hardware located between said first end and said second end of said bra fastener, including one or more hooks and/or eyes and an opening for accepting said elongated strip of material; A loop attached to said first end, said loop comprising an opening for accepting a user's finger and/or thumb; A loop attached to said second end, said loop comprising an opening for accepting a user's finger and/or thumb; and A fastener located on at least one side of the elongated strip of material for fastening said strip of material to itself.
 2. A bra fastener as in claim 1, wherein said elongated strip of material is elastic; A bra fastener as in claim 1, wherein the opening in said slider hardware comprises a D-ring;
 3. A bra fastener as in claim 1, wherein the opening in said slider hardware comprises a rectangle;
 4. A bra fastener as in claim 1, wherein said fastener comprises a hook-and-loop fastener;
 5. A bra fastener as in claim 1, wherein said fastener comprises snaps;
 6. A bra fastener as in claim 1, wherein said fastener comprises magnets.
 7. An elongated strip of material comprising: A first end and a second end; At least one bra hook located at said first end for engaging with a bra eye of a bra; At least one bra eye located at said second end for engaging with a bra hook of a bra; Slider hardware located between said first end and said second end, including one or more hooks and/or eyes for engaging with one or more hooks and/or eyes of a bra; Said slider hardware including an opening for accepting said elongated strip of material; Said first and/or second end of said elongated strip of material including a loop for accepting a user's finger and/or thumb; and Hook-and-loop fastening material located on at least one side of the elongated strip of material and situated to allow the fastening of said strip of material to itself.
 8. An elongated strip of material as in claim 7, wherein said elongated strip of material is elastic.
 9. An elongated strip of material as in claim 7, wherein the opening in said slider hardware comprises a D-ring.
 10. An elongated strip of material as in claim 7, wherein the opening in said slider hardware comprises a rectangle.
 11. An elongated strip of material as in claim 7, wherein said fastener comprises snaps.
 12. An elongated strip of material as in claim 7, wherein said fastener comprises magnets.
 13. A bra fastener as in claim 1, wherein said fastener comprises snaps.
 14. A bra fastener as in claim 1, wherein said fastener comprises magnets.
 15. Bra slider hardware comprising: One or more hooks and/or eyes for engaging with one or more hooks and/or eyes of a bra; An opening for accepting an elongated strip of material, said elongated strip of material comprising a first end and a second end; At least one bra eye located at said first end of said strip of material for engaging with a bra hook of a bra; At least one bra hook located at said second end for engaging with a bra eye of a bra; Said first and/or second end of said elongated strip of material including a loop for accepting a user's finger and/or thumb; and A fastener located on at least one side of the elongated strip of material and situated to allow the fastening of said strip of material to itself.
 16. Bra slider hardware as in claim 15, wherein said fastener comprises a hook-and-loop fastener.
 17. Bra slider hardware as in claim 15, wherein said fastener comprises snaps.
 18. Bra slider hardware as in claim 15, wherein said fastener comprises magnets.
 19. Bra slider hardware as in claim 15, wherein said opening comprises a D-ring.
 20. Bra slider hardware as in claim 15, wherein said opening comprises a rectangle. 